Second Dundorfian Civil War
Die Zweite Dundorfischer Bürgerkrieg (the Second Dundorfian Civil War) began on 16 March 2365 and ended on 7 January 2368 with the withdrawal of Right-wing forces from Dundorf. The conflict divided society by ideology and soon extended beyond the borders of Dundorf itself as neighboring nations intervened on behalf of their ideological self-interests. The war lasted nearly three years and proved devastating to the Dundorfian people and economy. Infrastructure was destroyed, thousands of lives were lost and an era of general mistrust enveloped the nation. It would take nearly four decades to regain the unity of the nation. Origin of the Conflict The Second Dundorfian Civil War had its roots in a debate within Volkskammer, the representative body of Dundorf, between the majority Right-wing and minority Left-wing factions over intervention in the Second Kirlawan Civil War. The Left-wing parties of the Volkskammer had been requested to give military aid to the alliance between the Free Union of Kirlawa and the Democratic Republic of Kirlawa; then engaged in the struggle against the Fascist Imperial Empire of Kirlawa for control of the divided nation. The Left-wing parties brought the issue to the Volksammer on 2 February in order to gain official governmental and military aid for the Alliance. The Volkskammer Collapses The Right-wing coalition Government refused to accept the measure. The Right remained adamantly mistrustful of the Left after their attempts to enlist the aid of the Deltarian political establishment to take power and create a Leftist dictatorship in Dundorf. This mistrust coupled with the desire to remain neutral in the actions of other sovereign nations highlighted the feelings of the Government toward the Kirlawan crises. One NSAP spokesmen summarized the Right-wing position: The Left-wing parties disagreed. To them, the decision for non-intervention was not over sovereignty but was instead a silent form of support for the Fascist Imperial Empire of Kirlawa. The parties within the Volkskammer drew up sides but not before irreversible damage had been done. The Left felt obligated to support the Alliance and within days (8 February) the Left-wing parties mobilized supporters to march in pro-war demonstrations and protests. A series of transportation strikes soon followed, bringing the nation to a standstill. The Government reacted with force, using the police to compel the strikers back to their jobs. The February Crisis Protests intensified, on 19 February. A few protests in Lutzenkamp and Bergengruber were infiltrated by SAP-D paramilitaries disguised as protesters in the hope of instigating violence and drawing more support. The government declared marshal law the following day and quickly cracked down on all protests. The Left-wing parties, led by the SAP-D, objected. On 26 February the SAP-D, from its headquarters in Chontaloia, released a press-conference: The Government refused to give in citing that it would not "be held hostage by disgruntled parties". Simultaneously, the Foreign Minister of the Rütanen Reich secretly offered aid to the Government in the case of a Leftist rebellion to which the Government immediately agreed. The Government called the bluff of the Left-wing parties and for two tenuous weeks the nation sat at a standstill as news agencies from all over the world scrambled for every piece of information and speculated as to the outcome of the crisis. Just as the crisis seemed to be winding down, the Government took a desperate gamble. On 15 March, with the permission of the Dundorfian Government, 31,000 Rütanen troops crossed the border into Chontaloia. The First Year of the War The SAP-D leadership, including Chairman Michael Volker, narrowly escaped capture by advanced elements of Rütanen troops and crossed into the Democratic Republic of Kirlawa. Other Left-wing and moderate parties immediately went into hiding. From his place of exile in the Democractic Republic of Kirlawa, Michael Volker and the SAP-D officially declared war against the Government and the Rütanen Reich on 16 March. The Second Dundorfian Civil War had begun. ''Nationale Volksarmee'' Crisis After the official initation of hostilities the armed forces of Dundorf, the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) faced a crisis of its own. A large proportion of its personnel were Left in their ideology. Facing this conflict of interest, many refused to fight their fellow Leftists; many others simply refused to fight fellow Dundorfians. On 18 March, the NVA General Staff released Order 132 stating: This generous order released thousands of soldiers from duty without conflict. The army began to split apart. Ground forces from Oderveld and Grozvic tended to remain loyal the Government while forces from Chontaloia and Julstoch faced the most defections. Regiments from Dunlake often tried to remain neutral or else defected en-masse. The capabilities of the NVA was greatly depleted as somewhere between a 35%-40% of its manpower was stricken ineligible for the front. The Air Force remained generally loyal, as did the Special Forces Command. While the army's Order 132 was a sincere gesture on the part of the armed forces, the Government felt no need to enforce such a promise when on 20 March more than 30,000 former-NVA soldiers were rounded up and imprisoned by Right-wing paramilitaries in several internment camps in lower Grozvic. These arrests were spearheaded by the Dundorfische Patriotische Streitkräfte (Dundorfian Patriotic Armed Forces), or Patrioten, the paramilitary force of the Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei (NSAP). Despite the arrests and internments, around 8,000 former-NVA soldiers made it to Leftist lines and took up arms against the Government. The Oderveld Offensive (25 March 2365 - 1 June 2365) With the aid of the Rütanen Expeditionary Force's (REF) 30,000-man force and Right-wing paramilitaries, the rump NVA put the first offensive of the war in action. The General Staff plan to drive a wedge between the Left-wing rebel forces by driving through Oderveld to the Kirlawan border where the NVA would link up with the forces of the Imperial Republic of Kirlawa making their offensive to link up as well. Then the newly-linked NVA-REF-IRK army would simply need to conquer the divided Leftist forces through overwhelming strength of arms. The offensive began at 4.30 a.m. on 25 March. With the NVA pushing north on the left and the REF running parallel on the right the attack made quick progress until the both forces had reached the suburbs of Unterschloss, only 60 kilometers from the Kirlawan border. The Unterschloss Salient Members of the SAP-D's Volksjager paramilitary force blocked the progress of the NVA 3. Panzerdivision using mines and hasty defenses in the Unterschloss suburb of Hattingen. The 3. Panzer bogged down while the rest of the NVA-REF forces enveloped the city and continued to push toward the Kirlawan border. By 6 April Unterschloss was completely surrounded and the Volksjager units within were low on supplies and suffering terrible casualities. The offensive appeared to be working until the 2.Volksjager Regiment, made up of 5,000 NVA-veterans and deserters, counterattacked mid-morning on 12 April from bases in Kirlawa. The counterattack was preceded by a massive artillery barage, courtesy of the Democratic Republic of Kirlawa. The counteroffensive suprised the NVA 4. Infanterie-Division who had let their guard down upon reaching the border. One shellshocked NVA soldier remarked: They were pushed back after heavy fighting. The retreat of the 4. Infanterie left an open route to Unterschloss for supplies and reinforcements. By 18 April nearly 3,000 Volksjager had bolstered the defense of Unterschloss, which had by this time been pushed to the last northernmost quarter of the city. A combination of attacks against the salient by the NVA 4. Infanterie-Division and REF "Reichswachen" Infanterie proved unsuccessful as Volksjager reinforcements rushed in. Meanwhile, the Leftists began a series of local counteroffensives bent on driving the NVA-REF forces from the Kirlawan border. This strategy was developed by Volksjager Generalfeldmarschall Leopold Scheintmann, a retired-NVA general with outspoken communist views. For the most part, his small offensives succeeded as supply lines opened and the Rightist forces were compelled to retreat to consolidate their overextended lines. By 1 June both armies had stagnated and entrenched in the northern hills of Oderveld and Dunlake. The Oderveld Offensive had cost the NVA 4,561 casualties: 734 dead; 2,543 wounded; 1,284 captured or missing. The Volksjager suffered 12,043 (including nearly 2,000 of the elite 2.Volksjager Regiment): 4,985 killed; 5,421 wounded; 1,637 captured or missing. The REF suffered a totally of 2,099 casualties of which roughly a quarter were killed. The focus of the war would now changed from the hills of northern Oderveld to the ridges of Julstoch. The Julstoch Offensive of the REF (10 June 2365 - 11 January 2366) With the collapse of the Oderveld Offensive the NVA-REF shifted the focus of their attack to the Kommunistische Einheitspartei Dundorf (KED) led militias in Julstoch. These forces were less trained than their Volksjager compatriots but made up for it with high morale. The joint NVA-REF army shifted supplies and equipment to Julstoch. However, with the high casualties suffered and the lack of NVA forces the army was forced to back up the 27,000-man REF with 55,000 poorly trained and poorly equipped Dundorfische Patriotische Streitkräfte (Patrioten) paramilitaries led by NSAP officers. On midnight on 10 June the sky lit up with tracer fire as primitive KED anti-aircraft artillery plugged away at the NVA airforce's bombing sorties. More than 100 precision-guided bombs fell on pinpointed targets in less than twenty minutes. By 12.30 a.m. thousands of artillery shells and rockets fell on the remaining VAL positions. Under the cover of a moving bombardment the REF-''Patrioten'' offensive began. Using night-vision technologies the REF had crossed the entrenchments of the VAL and were barreling down the roads towards Lutzenkamp by 2 a.m. Several large pockets of KED forces were surrounded in the night and in the morning were forced to surrender to Patrioten units, costing the KED militias around 5,000 men. The offensive was halted, just as the Oderveld Offensive had been, at the suburbs of a major city, in this case, Lutzenkamp. The REF decided to prevent the disaster from the previous offensive and concentrated on bypassing the city with its main forces; leaving the taking of the city to the Patrioten following behind. However, the relatively flat land of leading to the city turned hilly and mountainous to its north. The REF began to founder on 13 June as KED resistance stiffened, bolstered by the defensive landscape. The REF continued to slog ahead regardless of mounting casualties. By 17 June the KED had been pushed to within just 6 kilometers of the Kirlawan border. The REF wanted to prevent the bulk of the KED militia from escaping into Kirlawa, or using it to mount a counteroffensives like in Oderveld so they began to corral the KED towards the border with the Kundrati Union to the east. With this in mind, two REF infantry division attacked Hügel Haur (Haur Hill), a low mountain near the meeting of the Kirlawan-Kundrati border. The two sides battled viciously on the hill for four harrowing days before the KED lost possession. The KED counterattacked on 23 June with a disastrous human-wave attack by 3,500 militiamen. The REF used air strikes and their superior firepower to all but annihilate the militiamen. No exact numbers of casualties from the KED assault are available but it is estimated that of the nearly 3,500 militiamen roughly 3,000 were killed or wounded while only around 700, in any condition, hobbled down the hill after the attack. The REF had successfully cordoned off route to Kirlawa, effectively cutting off 12,000 KED militiamen. By the end of the summer, they were forced to surrender and were shipped to prisoner of war (POW) camps in Grozvic. The Seige of Lutzenkamp As the REF was cutting off the retreat of the KED in the north, the Patrioten militia was having difficulty coordinating their units and pushing into Lutzenkamp. As in Unterschloss months before, the KED militia had turned Lutzenkamp into a fortress. Half-trained Patrioten units were finding it difficult to push into the city and finally resorted to pelting the suburbs of the city with constant air strikes for nearly a week starting on 15 June. One Patrioten commander, and Lutzenkamp denizen, is reported to have commented on the bombing of his hometown with: By 21st the NVA airforce was forced to suspend air strikes as their stocks of aviation fuel were dangerously low. This signaled the start of the Patrioten push into the city. Within two days the NSAP militias had cut off the southwest quarter of the city but had stopped short of advancing further as casualties mounted. They were particularly disturbed by the KED tactic of forcing impressed Lutzenkamp levee battalions to engage in suicidal assaults against Patrioten positions. The sight of the utterly destroyed city also proved draining on Patrioten units and before long they were content to sit and wait out the KED defenders. Many attempts were made to convince the KED to allow the civilians of the city to leave but all were stoutly refused. As a result, somewhere around 75,000 civilians in Lutzenkamp died from disease, malnutrition, and wounds. From 28 June 2365 to 11 January 2366 the KED held out in the city before finally surrendering. Of the near 32,000 defenders only 23,000 in various conditions remained to surrender. The Julstoch Offensive proved a success and was the highpoint of the Government campaign against the Left. It had come at a high price. Patrioten militia lost an overwhelming 9,344 of which 3,847 were killed; 3,854 wounded and 1,643 missing or captured. The REF suffered an ungodly 7,150 casualties: 1,698 killed; 5,402 wounded; 12 missing and 38 captured. The heaviest casualty for the REF, however, was the wariness of public opinion for continued intervention in Dundorf. The KED militia suffered worse. Its starting roster of around 68,000 had ceased to exist. Estimates of killed and wounded are as high as 20,000 while another 33,789 were captured by the REF or Patrioten. Only around 14,000 KED militiamen made it to friendly lines in Kirlawa. The 2365 Fall Lull The Left was crippled by the speed and ferocity of the Oderveld Offensive and devestatingly high casualties of the Julstoch Offensive that followed. What they needed more than anything was breathing space to reorganize their forces and consolidate their positions. If the NVA-REF had been able to continue the pressure the Left may have collapsed within weeks. The Left was saved by an unexpected source. Petroleum was running scarce in Dundorf as large proportions of it was confiscated by the military and the Government's reserves were exhausted. Most of the oil pipeline to Dundorf ran through Kirlawa and little petroleum was finding its way to the beleagered country as the Leftists merely cut the lines. The Government simply invested in a new pipeline through Ichredön but it would not be completed for months. The lack of fuel caused a halt in offenseive operations and gave the Left the break it so desperately needed. The NVA-REF took the opportunity to strategically dig defenses along the 3,000 kilometer border with Kirlawa. At the same time, the Government began training and equipping volunteers, conscripts, and Patrioten recruits; swelling the ranks of the NVA to nearly 900,000 men (almost equalling its prewar total of 1 million) which it felt was adeqate to defeat the remaining Leftist rebels.. New organizations were also founded; a national police force, the Staatliche Schutzagentur, was created to root out Leftist fifth columns and provide auxilliary support to the NVA; along with the Nationale Sieg-Agentur (National Victory Agency) to coordinate and enforce rationing efforts throughout Government-controlled areas. For obvious reasons, these two organizations soon became the most hated elements of the Government and the cause of much dissent and grief. Meanwhile, the Left used the time to raise troop levees and money for weapons and supplies. The disparate militias were reorganized as a unified army commanded by newly combat experienced officers farmed from within the ranks of the militias themselves. The move was by no means smooth as many units, especially self-defined "elite" Volksjager units, refused to join the newly-dubbed Vereinigte Armee des Links (United Army of the Left), or VAL. As 2365 drew to a close, both sides had recovered sufficiently to quash any hope of a quick end to the conflict. The bloodiest year of the war was yet to come in 2366. The Left Strikes Back The first few months of 2366 saw the front stagnate and uneventful. Many soldiers and civilians on both sides began to assume that the war would continue this way until a ceasefire agreement had been made. The Right-wing Government of Dundorf was hoping for the same circumstances. It had already pushed the Left out of Dundorf, the border was protected, and the conflict remained supported by over half the populace. The VAL high command had other plans in store. First VAL Offensive of 2366 (9 April 2366 - 13 June 2366) From January through March the VAL prepared for a counter-offensive in Oderveld to take back the middle of the nation and eventually split and destroy the NVA-REF forces. On 6 April the VAL began their offensive much the same as all the others, with a sudden and violent artillery barrage. Newly acquired modile-rocket launchers in tandem with regular static artillery. In forty minutes, more than 1200 shells and rockets smashed into the defenses of the NVA. Despite the carefully arranged and coordinated bombardment the artillery was ineffective and unnecessary. The NVA had, for months, watched the slow build up of VAL forces and had compensated by secretly pulling back forces to safe zones behind the lines. VAL artillery fell well in front of them, destroying the less buttressed defenses but leaving the well-prepared ones largely intact. As the 80,000 strong VAL force slowly rose and moved along its 10 kilometer front the better trained and more limber NVA rushed back into the remaining defenses. As advanced VAL units reached NVA lines, they were met with a torrent of counter-artillery and small arms fire. Within several hours, the créme of the new VAL were all but destroyed with some fighting units suffering over 60% casualties. The offensive buckled and collapsed. The NVA prepared to advance to exploit the VAL collapse but were stopped by a renewed artillery barrage along the front. Despite the horrendous losses the VAL high command was determined to continue the offensive. The disrupted units were reorganized and an additional 30,000 reserve troops, some with little training, were rushed to the front. On 8 April the VAL renewed their attacks with more determination and success than the first day. The Story of Maximilien Lerner VAL forces pushed more than 10 kilometers into Dundorf at their greatest extent. NVA forces up and down the lines barely held on while latter defense lines were prepared and reinforcements brought in. It was here, near the small village of Hennigsdorf that first Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - the second-highest military award of Dundorf) of the war was awarded by the NVA. At this point of the conflict more than 450 individual Eisernes Kreuze (Iron Crosses) had been awarded, in which 23 were of the 1st Class grade. On 9 April in Hennigsdorf, a battalion of the NVA 7. Infanterie-Division was forced to retreat across the small tributary that split the village. To allow the bulk of the unit to escape and rig the bridge with explosives an undermanned company of 89 men held a rearguard action against nearly two battalions of the VAL's 40. "Rotes Sieg" Grenadierdivision ("Red Victory" Heavy-Infantry Division). During the fight Hauptsgefreiter (Lance Corporal) Maximilien Lerner took command when the commanding officer was killed and held on for nearly two hours. Eventually, Lerner and only four other men continued to hold on to until forced to retreat across the bridge; mere seconds before it was blown. For his action in the village, Lerner was promoted and award both the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (Iron Cross 1st Class) and the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on the spot, Lerner had previously been awarded the prerequisite Iron Cross 2nd Class in fighting near the Kirlawan border a year before. It would certainly not be the last such award given for either side. The Battle of Unterschloss Just as in the NVA-REF offensive in Oderveld the year before, the fate of the VAL offensive hung on the city of Unterschloss. The NVA engaged in a fighting withdrawal to the city and prepared to defend it in depth. Using delaying tactics, the NVA aided the entire civilian population leave the city to a safe zone in the south of the Land. Unterschloss was defended by 10,000 Patrioten militia, newly trained and equipped by the NVA but backed up by several thousand regular NVA infantry. More than 18,000 VAL infantry reached the city on 13 April and assaulted the city. Fighting was brutal and at close quarters in the city. VAL losses were heavy but by coordinating pinpoint artillery barrages before sudden assaults, they were able to push deep into the interior of the city. Patrioten forces retreated only to keep their losses to a minimum, trading space for bodies. At the Baumann department store, the Patrioten struck back. A desperate local assault recaptured the building and the Patrioten wisely used the leverage of the building's height to push up several blocks, breaking the momentum of the initial VAL assault. Over the next several weeks, the center of the city, including the Baumann department store, would change hands a further six times. By the end of May the Patrioten defenders had built up a sufficient reserve to begin the slow process of pushing the VAL out of the city. Fighting Outside Unterschloss In the countryside the front fluctuated greatly with attacks and counterattacks by both sides tearing up the ground between the two armies. Unlike the fighting at the beginning of the offensive, here the fighting was very mobile and loose. There were relatively few soldiers on both sides and so a continueous and unbroken front was impossible, instead, both sides maintained possession of key transportation routes and other strategic posts and shifted the lines around and between them. The town of Hennigsdorf switched sides nearly 12 times in a single month period. On 12 June, the VAL high command called off the offensive and strategically withdrew into the low hills several kilometers north of Unterschloss. The Patrioten forces in Unterschloss awoke on the morning of 13 June to find the enemy had vacated the city. The end of the first VAL offensive had cost them 18,007 casualties: 6,601 killed; 9,693 wounded and 1,713 captured. The NVA and Patrioten lost 6,432: 1,209 killed; 3,969 wounded and 1,254 captured. Both armies were exhausted but newly trained recruits bolstered both sides. The VAL prepared for another offensive, this time in Dunlake. The River Ode Offensive (1 July 2366 - 12 October 2366) The newly proposed der Ode offensive would prove to be the largest thus far in the war. Six full VAL divisions were planned to ram into the middle of the NVA lines in Dunlake and rush to the River Ode, developing a bridgehead for use in later operations to thrust in Oderveld. Nearly estimated 200,000 men with 1,000 vehicles and 250 tanks and supported by 400 artillery pieces, 60 combat helicopters, 100 transport helicopters, 80 transport planes, 40 fighters & 30 bombers. The operation began on 1 July 2366 with an airborne helicopter assault on the airfield outside the small town of Hörstel, about 30 kilometers from the front, by the 1. "Rote Wacht" Luftlandeinfanteriebataillon made of elite NVA defectors. The full contingent of 160 attack and transport helicopters successfully landed the battalion around 2.00 a.m., achieving complete surprise. The battalion secured the airfield by 2.45 a.m. without firing a shot, having captured the sleeping Luftwaffe command in their pajamas. Only 5 kilometers from the airfield rested the entire 4,000-man 7. Infanterie-Division which had been alerted by the commotion of the helicopter landings. - helicopter/airborne assualt on Hörstel by to capture forward airfield; runs into the resting ; defeated & captured; Max Lerner leads assault and given more medals - initial assault effective; all NVA divisions retreat to Nordenhaus (bridges over river destroyed); only 1 division (5. Reserve-Division) in the mountains slows assault - VAL stopped at River Ode; NVA reinforcements rushed in (regulars pulled of the line elsewhere and rushed against salient - VAL holds against assault from east; counterattacks and pushed, parallel to River Ode, across Oderveld to foothills of the mountains; trapping 100,000 NVA & Patrioten soldiers along Kirlawan border - NVA along border squeezed by both sides, attempt to break out defeated (Bayonet charge by 49. Reserve-Regiment of 35. Reserve-Division); all lost-killed or surrendered - VAL push across river, form bridgehead at small town; miscommunication & leadership failures causes bridgehead cutoff and collapse - NVA uses same area to create a bridgehead; leads counterattack, further attacks from flanks (mountains), threatens to divide and cut off entire VAL force (now 400,000)-retreat from river in Dunlake and back to border in Oderveld - approx. 130,000 VAL losses; 190,000 NVA losses Category:Dundorf History Category:Wars, civil wars and conflicts